Far away, so close!
by Kimi Strongwind
Summary: Ichigo leaves Karakura,and his life as a soul reaper, behind to start a new life in Osaka, little does he know that in this new city he will find the love that will help him make peace with his past.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Bleach OK?

A/N

('') means inner thoughts ("") means dialog

**This is a rewrite of an old story, so by default I shall be rewriting the spin-offs of this story also.**

**********Far Away, So Close!**

**********Chapter 1**

**********Bad Memories**

_-Flashback- _

_"__Chotto Matte kudasai!" Ichigo pleaded, his only reply was the sound of accelerating footsteps as they hit the tiled rooftop of the 13th division compound._

_'When did she get so fast?' he thought as he continued to give chase, "Damn it Rukia wait up!"_

_The small woman came to a halt, turning to face him, "Ichigo I can not do this anymore", her eyes where glazed with unshed tears._

_ "Rukia please don't say that", his voice trembling, "Don't you love me?"_

_"Oh Ichigo you baka", she almost whispered while gently pressing her head onto his chest and began to sob._

_'She still loves me' he thought and smiled a little,' but she does not want to be with me' his smile quickly turning to a frown. None of the wounds he had suffered since he became a shinigami representative could possibly hurt as much as his heart was hurting at this moment._

_"I know what you are thinking, and you are wrong" Rukia said between sobs._

_"…"_

_"I do want to be with you,_ _ai shiteru_ _Ichigo"._

_"Then why do this_" _Ichigo was on the breaking point, he could not believe that this was happening._

_"You know the reason well Ichigo" the petite woman was still holding on to his chest as if to dear life._

_"Are you serious Rukia?" 'This has to be a nightmare'. _

_Rukia let go of him and took a few steps back now fully facing him. "I have a duty towards my clan Ichigo"._

_"Oh come on Rukia, you don't have to follow their rules, they are not related to you by blood!" Ichigo was fuming, 'why the fuck is this happening NOW of all times'._

_"Yes that is true, but Nii-sama and the Kuchiki clan took me in, regardless of my background, they gave me everything"._

_"Haven't I given you everything?" 'Wake up Ichigo, WAKE UP!'_

_"Not everything Ichigo"._

_He knew of what she spoke of. He had been in Soul Society for 3 years now and yet still refused to become a full fledged shinigami._

_"Rukia what you are asking me is too…"_

_"Too what?" Rukia was now sobbing uncontrollably._

_"You are asking me to die Rukia!" 'Walls are closing in, shit'._

_"It is the only way!"_

_"Onegai shimasu Rukia, there must be another way!" Ichigo was panicking, not knowing how else to react, he burst into tears._

_"You know there is now other way Ichigo; in order for us to be married you MUST give up your human life"._

_"Rukia…"_

A/N

This flash back takes place about 7 years after the manga, so Ichigo is about 21.

Anyway, sorry for the short chapter. There is more to come soon I promise!!

Um, I borrowed the Title from Wender's Film, it's also a U2 song (related to the movie)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, but hey a girl can dream!

A/N:

('') means inner thoughts ("') means dialog

**Far Away so Close!**

******Chapter 2**

****** I choose to…  
**

**"**_Rukia you can't ask that of me" Ichigo was torn, true he loved Rukia, but he still had his family, he thought about his young sisters, Yuzu and Karin, about how they missed him and still awaited his return. He even thought about his idiot father, the man had already suffered the loss of his dear wife and now he could lose his only son. Then his thoughts went back to Rukia, the girl he had left the human world for. The girl he had risked his life several times for, the girl that pissed him of and yet drove him wild with passion._

"_Rukia, I want to spend eternity with you"_

"_You won't be able to Ichigo, you body is still alive, which means that you are too, you know it is forbidden"_

_Almost all of Soul Society had turned a blind eye to their relationship, mostly due to the fact that Ichigo had saved them several times, and honestly some people did not think they would last that long anyways. But they where proven wrong, Ichigo and Rukia's relationship turned really serious, he even went to see Byakuya Kuchiki himself in order to ask for Rukia's hand in marriage. That's when it all went downhill.  
_

* * *

_Two days before:_

_Kuchiki Byakuya never approved of him and now this orange haired idiot was asking for his sister's hand._

_"Kurosaki, I am afraid it is not possible"._

_"Nande!" Ichigo was livid; he was not pleased "Why?" _

"_Easy" he started keeping his usual stoic expression "Rukia is a soul, you are not, a union like this is not possible, it is forbidden, and I will not bend the rules, not this time"._

_"That is bullshit Byakuya", Ichigo began to unshed his zanpakutō._

_"I do not make the rules Kurosaki" Byakuya touched the hilt of his Senbonzakura as a clear warning and Ichigo forced himself to calm down._

_"Is there a way to make the marriage possible?" _

_"As a matter of fact, there is"._

_"Tell me Byakuya"._

_"Are you sure you want to know boy?"_

_"Cut the crap Byakuya" Ichigo gritted his teeth as he clearly lost his patience._

_"All right here it goes…"_

* * *

_-Back to the end-_

_"Rukia I, I can't do it" Ichigo felt defeated._

_"I see", Rukia stared at him with dead eyes, he felt like he was going to die right then and there._

_"Rukia, what about my family?"_

_"What about mine?"_

_Ichigo felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, he was not able to choose._

_"Ichigo I have a duty to my clan, I must marry before the end of this month, if you can not do this for us then it is over"._

_Ichigo smirked "It seems like we can't have what be both want"._

_"Seems so", Rukia had stopped crying feeling numb all over, 'Ichigo you fool'. _

_"Rukia", a voice came from their left. Kuchiki Byakuya was standing next to them._

_"Have you made your choice boy?"_

_"Yes, __gomen nasai Rukia__, but I choose to live", his head was down, he could not look at her but he could still listen to her cries, 'I am so sorry Rukia'._

_"I see, very well then, come Rukia"._

_"But Nii-sama" Rukia pleaded. Her heart sank; her brother had been her last hope. She had faith that her brother would come through like he always did, but this time was different._

_"He has made his choice Rukia, let us go"._

_She lowered her head and followed her brother back to the Kuchiki manor; she turned around one last time to see the man she loved._

_"Sayonara Kurosaki Ichigo", she turned around and disappeared._

_"Rukia!" Ichigo screamed like a madman, "Rukia!" he fell on his knees and cried; he did not notice it had started to rain._

_At the end of the month, it was announced through out Soul Society that Rukia was to marry the newly promoted Kira Izuru, who was also of noble blood. Everyone knew it was a political marriage, and this fact devastated Ichigo even more, he decided to leave Soul Society for good._

_-End of flashback-_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Do not own Bleach

As for the dialog and the thoughts, well you know the drill

**Far away so close!**

** Chapter 3. **

** A blast from the past!**

Ichigo was walking home from his last class of the day. He was really glad that he found an apartment so close to the university, specially now that his class schedule had left him with less time to do anything, including commuting. He arrived to his apartment and dropped everything on his small dining room table.

"I'm so hungry", his stomach agreed. He was not in the mood for cooking so he decided to eat out 'Besides I feel lucky today' he thought as he grabbed his keys and went out the door. Ichigo had been in Osaka for about 4 years, yet he had not done much exploring on his own other than the places he went to with his friends. He felt like exploring the smaller parts of the city tonight, Ichigo did not know it yet but he was about to receive a blast from the past.

The orange haired young man walked into a small interesting looking restaurant and looked around; he thought he saw a familiar face behind the counter, 'Nah it can't be'.

"Kurosaki- Kun!" a young woman said quite loudly as she approached him. The woman approaching him was non other than Inoue Orihime; 'no fucking way'. Out of all people he never expected to see her in such a big city. She looked the same and yet so different. Her red hair was shorter and fell just below her chin, her gray eyes where still soft, yet something about them had changed, and he could not point out what it was.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Ichigo had been so lost in his thoughts he did not notice that she was already in front of him.

"Kurosaki-kun are you alright?"

He snapped out of his trance and answered "Konnichiwa Inoue, long time no see" Ichigo said as he scratched the back of his head.

"You can call me Orihime silly!"

"Hai, hello Orihime", this simple gesture made the young woman smile, and Ichigo felt his heart skip a beat.

"See that is much better Kurosaki-kun", Ichigo could feel his cheeks getting hot so he averted his gaze, concentrating on his surroundings.

"You work here Orihime?" 'Of course she does baka' thought Ichigo.

"Hai, I am the manager of this restaurant!" Orihime beamed obviously proud of the fact.

"That is awesome, you've worked here long?

"Almost six years now, ever since I came to Osaka" Orihime's face turned serious.

'So this is where you've been all these years' thought Ichigo, a year after he had left for Soul Society Inoue had left Karakura and did not tell anyone except Tatsuki of her whereabouts and of course she made her best friend promise not to tell anyone where she was going. He decided not to bring up the topic.

"Orihime-san are you alright?"

"Hai!" she made silly gestures with her hands "Genki desu" she said laughing nervously. All of a sudden she raised an eyebrow playfully "How long have YOU been here?"

"Um" Ichigo felt really nervous, he was no expecting such a bold move from her.

Orihime started giggling when he did not answer, bringing him back to reality.

"I've been here for about 4 years; I just started my 4th year at Shidai".

"That is so great!" the young woman sounded really happy to hear his news.

"Yeah, I guess it is", he could not help but to smile at the overly excited woman.

"Kurosaki-kun we should meet up soon and catch up!"

"Howabouttonight" Ichigo bit his tongue as he realized what he just said 'Ichigo you idiot, now she is going to think that you are a pervert, it's the first time you see her in years and you are already asking her out, nice move baka!'

Orihime looked pleasantly surprised "I would love too, but I have plans tonight" .He felt as he had been kicked in the stomach 'I just got rejected'.

"How about tomorrow?" she sounded very confident and very sure of herself, which surprised him in a very good way.

"That would be great!" For some reason unknown to him he felt sort of relieved. He had not been rejected after, all just "postponed" which somehow annoyed him more.

Orihime picked up a napkin and wrote something on it. "Meet me here at 10 am tomorrow ok?"

"Hai" was all that Ichigo could muster.

_"_See you tomorrow Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime said as she went back to her customers.

"See you Orihime-san".

Ichigo stepped out of the restaurant "What just happened?" he said to himself as a big grin appeared on his face. He opened the napkin and read the address, Asaka Central Park, 'pretty close to my apartment'; then he noticed the name printed on the napkin, his smile grew wider as he pocketed the piece of paper and walked home.

A/N

_Well here it is another chapter of my little love story -, hope you like it._

_The story is mainly set in the Sumiyoshi ward in Osaka City, where Ichigo is going to school and where the park is also located._

_Till next time!_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Do not own Bleach

As for the dialog and the thoughts, well you know the drill

**Far away so close!**

**Chapter 4  
**

** Catching up and moving on, Part 1**

The young man looked at his watch for the hundredth time it was 9:45 am, he had been so concerned about not being late that he had arrived an hour early. He continued to wait at the beginning of the promenade, the place she had arranged to meet him today. He noticed a kid in a school uniform, hands in is pockets, cigarette dangling from his busted lips 'who knew a yankee would hang in a place like this' then he smirked as he though about the many times people mistook him for a yankee because of his hair…

"Kurosaki-kun!" his thoughts where interrupted by the busty redhead approaching him.

"Ohayou Orihime-san".

"Did you have trouble getting here?"

"No, not at all Orihime-san".

She smiled at her old friend "I'm glad Kurosaki-kun".

"Ano, where would you like to go Orihime-san?"

"Well I'm going to show you my favorite place in this park if you don't mind".

"Of course not, although I fell kind of stupid for living here for four years and never bothering with coming here".

She giggled at his comment "Don't be silly Kurosaki-kun, I am really glad that your first time will be with me" Ichigo blushed furiously at this comment 'Man this is not the time to have those kind of thoughts' he mentally slapped himself.

The pair kept walking until they reached what looked like a stage surrounded by a pond.

"This is it Kurosaki-kun my favorite place" she said with a wide smile "I come here to think and to surround myself with the Irises".

"Oh" he took a look around and noticed the pretty purple flowers that grew around the pond.

"They are so pretty right?" she sighted as she took in the view.

'Not as pretty as you Orihime'. She did not notice his gaze for she was busy looking at the flowers.

The friends sat themselves on the ground as Orihime insisted they should, surrounded by the peaceful atmosphere. Ichigo felt incredibly nervous as he sat next to this beautiful girl, no, woman that Orihime had become 'why the hell did I agree to do this?'

"So tell me Kurosaki-kun, last time you told me that you are studying at the Shidai, right?"

"Yeah I'm an undergraduate in the Faculty of Law".

"Wow really! That is wonderful Kurosaki-kun" she gently laughed "You always did fight for justice!"

"Yeap, except this time, I don't use a sword" he also laughed.

"Um, Kurosaki-kun…" he interrupted her, "Please call me Ichigo".

She blushed a little at this, "Ok, um Ichigo-kun, you are not a shinigami anymore?

His expression turned quite serious. "No, I gave it up years ago".

"But why would you do such a thing?"

"I rather not say Orihime-san".

Orihime looked at the pained expression in his eyes and decided to drop the matter.

"Soooo…" She decided to change topics "How to you like Osaka city so far?

"I like it here, but I have to admit that when I first came here it looked like another Tokyo, but I soon realized that people are more laidback here, and they sure like to eat a lot in here, it's insane!"

Orihime laughed at his comment "That is true people here do like to eat, personally I love okonomiyaki the best!"

"And why is that?" he smiled curiously.

"Well because that way I can have my favorite cheese and shrimp okonomiyaki topped with red bead paste and honey, and nobody will think is weird!"

"Are you sure about that Orihime-san?" he teased as he ruffled her red locks.

"Not funny Ichigo-kun" she pouted.

"Then why are you pouting?"

She bursted into laughter, her eyes welling up as she held her stomach, soon after he was laughing too. After a few minutes they quieted down and he asked "So it is safe to say that the reason you disappeared was to come to Osaka and eat okonomiyaki".

She suddenly stopped laughing, "Orihime-san are you alright, did I say something wrong?" Ichigo was worried 'Shit I offended her'.

"No Kurosaki-kun" she was obviously upset "That's not it, look I have to go ok?"

"But Orihime, I'm sorry if I said anything…"

"It's alright, don't worry ok" she stood up to leave, he was still sitting down not sure about what to do.

"Orihime can I see you again?"

"Um, sure you can always go to the restaurant, bye Kurosaki-kun". She was gone in a flash.

Ichigo felt an all too familiar pain in his chest, and before realizing it, he was caught in the rain.

A/N

Up next, Chapter 5 Her point of view

By the way yankee refers to a delinquent in Japan.

Okonomiyaki is a pan fried batter cake on which can add whatever you would like, the name means "cook what you like" so I thought this would be the perfect Orihime dish!

Shidai refers to the Osaka City University


End file.
